Temporal genetic variation in the raccoon, Procyon lotor

Abstract

Starch-gel electrophoresis was used to assess temporal genetic variation in a population of raccoon, Procyon lotor. Specimens (n = 1,056) were collected during nine annual hunts (1984-1992) at Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge, Obion Co., Tennessee, and Fulton Co., Kentucky. Of 41 loci examined, 35 were monomorphic; 6 exhibited polymorphism and were used in statistical analyses. Heterozygosity ranged from 0.033 (1990) to 0.046 (1992) with a mean of 0.042; however, differences across years were not significant. Significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were minimal. Chi-square contingency analysis revealed significant differences in allelic frequencies among years for four of the six polymorphic loci. Wright's F-statistics indicated significant differentiation among years (FST = 0.042). Rogers' genetic similarity coefficients ranged from 0.836 to 0.973. The matrix of all pairwise comparisons indicated a random pattern of relationships among years. Hunting appears to have had little influence on the genetic composition of raccoons in the study area over the 9-year period. The observed pattern of low-level temporal variation is probably the result of stochastic events.